A lyrical neorealism film that eschews the family melodrama
for a powerful and affecting look at poverty. Yes, there
is a midget, but it's not that type of film.

Review
by
Kevin Ma:

It
might not have the most politically-correct title, but
the 1981 Korean classic A Ball Shot by a Midget
is probably the least mean-spirited film about a height-challenged
individual I've ever seen. Unlike what the title might
suggest, the film is actually a poignant look at a family's
struggle to survive poverty while trying to stay happy.
The midget in question, Kim Bul-Yi (both the actor and
the character share the same name, though I doubt he's
playing himself), is actually presented as just another
proud working man who just wants to provide for his
family. After the circus he performs for disbands, he
returns home to his loving wife and three children:
Young-Su, a recently-released convict that gave up studying
to work in the salt fields; younger son Young-Ho, an
aspiring boxer; and daughter Young-Hi, who works at
the local bakery and earns quite a bit of unwanted attention
from men. However, Bul-Yi thinks he's too young to retire
and stay home, and finds a job as a doorman at a local
nightclub where he's belittled every night by the clientele.
Then again, poverty is not
such a big deal when the family is finally under one
roof. Even though everyone has their own issues to deal
with, they all seem to get along swimmingly. However,
that peace threatens to crumble when an eviction notice
arrives at the family's door. The salt farm they live
on has been shut down due to contamination, and the
family has literally earned themselves a ticket to move
into an apartment in town as factories plan to move
into the area. But a ticket only guarantees them the
right to buy an apartment, and the family just doesn't
have the money to pay for it. The only other option
left is to sell the ticket to real estate agents, but
that means selling everything the family has built for
only a fraction of its worth, just to afford a room
too small for a family of five. Obviously, this puts
the family between a rock and a hard place.
"Life is tough" is probably
the most basic lesson in the film, but A Ball Shot
by a Midget was meant to be so much more. Based
on a 1976 award-winning "resistance" novel, the story
was written at a time where much of popular culture
was censored, and the screenplay itself went through
the censorship process twice before it was approved
for filming. Yet, A Ball Shot by a Midget remains
a tragic and damning look at the system, where the rich
profit off the poor, and the poor are simply neglected
when they no longer serve their purpose. However, the
family is also presented somewhat too nicely in the
face of adversity; in one scene, the saintly mother
figure is so nice that she even offers some hard-earned
meat to the construction workers tearing down their
house. Her reason: the workers may be tearing down everything
the family has worked for, but they're just doing their
jobs. Call me a cynic, but it's hard to imagine people
that nice ever existed.
Regardless of your political
view about 1970s South Korea, A Ball Shot by a Midget
is really about a family and the price they pay to survive.
The title character may be a midget, and his size is
a minor issue throughout the film, but Kim Bul-Yi's
family could easily be any other family living near
that salt farm. The focus is thankfully not on Bul-Yi's
abnormal height, but rather his role as a family man,
his children's duty to the family, the love the family
shares, and their struggles through poverty. I don't
dare to presume any meaning using a midget as the man
of the house might have in the grand scheme of things,
but the creators should be praised for not making a
joke out of their protagonists. In fact, the title may
be the only humorous - and definitely the most misleading
- part of the film. Make no mistake, A Ball Shot
by a Midget is serious film, and rightfully so,
too. Lee presents the film's devastating events and
strong emotions artfully, making the film more lyrical
than punishingly grim, despite its lack of broad, audience-friendly
humor.
Unlike contemporary social
realism films, which see their worlds in a gritty and
harsh light, A Ball Shot by a Midget is a masterful
blend of styles. The script by novelist Cho Se-Hee deals
with very real and grim subjects which are usually conveyed
in a very raw visual approach, but director Lee Won-Se
handles his subject matter elegantly. The South Korean
rural landscapes are depicted in elegant wide shots,
and even the sex scenes, often explicit in contemporary
Korean cinema, are very tastefully done. As oxymoronic
as it sounds, the result is a poetic neorealistic work
that manages to deliver an emotional impact, thanks
to Lee's balance of the cinematic language and dedication
to realism. Usually voiceovers are regarded as a tool
for the lazy screenwriter to convey such emotions, but
Hong and Lee use them effectively here. Characters express
their innermost thoughts through "telepathic conversations,"
where characters have imaginary conversations with a
moral compass to show their uncertainty about their
situations. They register a little too high on the overacting
scale at points, but the technique itself is effective
without being too dramatic.
Furthermore, Lee strays from
melodrama conventions by actually having the family
get along. Kim Bul-Yi, in what seems to be his only
film performance, lacks strong acting chops, but his
character's scenes with eldest son Young-Su are often
the most the film's most poignant and affecting. This
is largely due to Ahn Sung-Ki's powerful performance
as Young-Su, who's the closest thing in the film to
a protagonist. Young-Su's situation is often put front
and center to highlight the pessimism that idealistic
young people faced at the time. Since we connect with
Young-Su, and since the filmmakers show at the beginning
that the children are often protective of their father's
reputation, it's easy to build a connection between
him and Bul-Yi. In fact, the characters get along so
well that the filmmakers seem to suggest that Young-Hi
has some borderline incestuous feeling for her older
brother, though that aspect is probably better off in
another movie altogether. It might be more interesting
to see another melodrama where family members bicker
endlessly, but the choice to do otherwise only serves
to highlight the theme of the poor's struggle in an
oppressive society. It's an important message to get
across, and that's what makes A Ball Shot by a Midget
one of the most important Korean films you've probably
never seen. (Kevin Ma 2007)

Notes:

 The film was set
to feature music by banned musician Kim Min-Ki, but
his contribution was never used because of the government's
strict censorship policies at the time.
 Despite the two rounds of censorship changes
the screenplay went through, the film still suffered
multiple cuts, and lines were redubbed during post-production.
This means the praise in the above review may be due
to content not initially intended by the filmmakers.